KENNEWICK, Wash. – “You can’t win if you don’t play,” said Pay ‘N Pak hydroplane driver John Walters after a test of his new machine one day before the Columbia Cup race.
He may have played too hard. The boat that had electrified a large crowd on Saturday horrified those gathered for Sunday’s race on the Columbia River.
Walters took the Pay ‘N Pak for a test spin around the course shortly before the day’s first scheduled heat at noon.
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| The Pay 'N Pak, with driver John Walters, goes into a double somersault during a practice run prior to Sunday's Columbia Cup on the Columbia River in Kennewick, Wash. Walters was hospitalized with a broken hip socket. |
If flipped backward 2 ½ times, hit the water on its nose and flipped backward again, coming to rest upside down in the water.
Walters was ejected on the first flip. The rescue barge was at his side 55 seconds after the start of the crash and divers were helping the injured driver out of the water 10 seconds later.
Walters, an experienced limited hydroplane driver making his debut on the unlimited circuit, was rushed to Kennewick General Hospital where he was treated for a broken hip socket and a rash of cuts, bruises and sprains.
The boat’s damage was concentrated on its right side, where the front portion of the sponson was sheared off. The deck was smashed. Crew chief-designer Jim Lucero estimates damage may run to $30,000, but said the boat was not a total loss.
“I think he was going 160-plus (mph) when he flipped. But he wasn’t anywhere close to being full out,” owner Dave Heerensperger said.
On Saturday, he said the boat and crew were not as prepared as they’d like to have been for the race.
“But we owe it to our fans and to the sport to be here,” he said.
Lucero said he couldn’t define all the problems and damage until he disassembled the boat in Seattle later this week.
“But our first concern is with John,” he added.
Lucero and crew had worked day and night to get the turbine boat ready for the race. It wasn’t brought to Kennewick until Saturday, the last day for qualifying.
“We came over here to test the boat and to give John a chance to get a feel for it.” Lucero said. “We had no plans to compete with Atlas or Budweiser.”